LexologyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency appears to have significantly increased its enforcement of the Energy Star Program's conformity verification rules over the past year. During 2015, under the broad category of "non-lighting products," EPA removed, or disqualified, from the program 169 products that it had previously granted the right to bear the Energy Star label. The 2015 total was more than three times the number of such products disqualified in 2014, and higher than the four prior years combined.READ MORE

AWDIAWDI developed a library of installation instructions that meet and exceed the EnergyStar® EPA Version 6 requirements. Participating window manufacturers meet the EPA/EnergyStar requirements and qualify for NFRC's IVP program by simply licensing the AWDI WIXSYS® Portal customized for their individual needs. It's easy, affordable and compliant.READ MORE

Construction DiveNet-zero energy buildings are today's ultimate green building statement. From the proposed Bride of the Gulf in Basra, Iraq — which will be the tallest building in the world if completed — to Tesla's gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, the biggest players in building design and innovation are choosing the net-zero path.
But if you set aside the often short-lived burst of excitement generated with each net-zero announcement, the concept is very simple. Net-zero status simply requires that a building, or group of buildings, produces as much energy as it consumes. Certification requires that the building maintain that net-zero status for one year. READ MORE

Business.comNow that tax filing season is underway, many small business owners are gathering their financial information and planning to meet with a trustworthy tax preparer.
Having a qualified professional prepare tax returns provides a number of benefits including: ensuring the filing is timely and accurate, and avoiding an audit.
While only a small percentage of tax returns will be audited by the Internal Revenue Service, there are steps a business owner can take to minimize the chances of an audit.READ MORE

The FieldLens BlogYou're already doing it.
Your company is live with a project management software program, and results are rolling in: Work is happening faster, tracking progress and construction documents is easier, and no one’s banging their head against the wall when "daily report" and "punch list" are mentioned.
For many firms, there's your victory. But smart contractors are discovering there's more juice where that came from.
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Los Angeles TimesAfter toxic lead from old pipes started poisoning the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, residents were outraged at the environmental regulators who incorrectly treated the water.
The same thing had happened in Washington, D.C., more than a decade earlier. In both cities, poorly treated water corroded the kind of old lead pipes you can find across the nation.
Meet Richard Rabin, whose first response wasn't to blame the water regulators.
In the 20th century, Rabin and other lead critics say, the lead industry ignored growing suspicions that the element was toxic for children and launched a campaign to ensure that Americans kept buying lead paint for their homes, lead gas for their cars and lead plumbing in their communities.
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Associated General Contractors of America via For Construction ProsConstruction firms added 18,000 workers in January, as the industry's unemployment rate declined to a 17-year low of 8.5 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the number of construction jobs added in January was down compared to the last three months of 2015 and could reflect either a slowdown in nonresidential construction activity or an inability of contractors to find qualified workers.READ MORE

NAHBTopping the list of problems builders faced in 2015 and expect to face in 2016 is the Cost/Availability of Labor, an issue for 76 percent of builders who expect it to increase in 2016 and which has increased in importance the past three years. In 2013, 53 percent of builders rated labor as a significant problem, followed by 61 percent in 2014 and 71 percent in 2015. An expected skilled labor shortage can constrain an improving housing market.
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